Section 288 of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) imposes a duty on surgeons that encompasses the decision to commend and proceed with surgery, not merely competence in performing the operation. A surgeon who proceeds to operate with criminal negligence in the decision to operate breaches the s 288 duty, even where the surgery itself is performed competently. For sentencing in medical criminal negligence manslaughter cases, denunciation is a legitimate and important sentencing purpose, and comparable sentences from jurisdictions applying a civil negligence standard are of no assistance in Queensland.
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